Method of finishing fabrics



Oct. 26, 1937. H. P. M NEILL 2,097,074

METHOD OF FINISHING FABRICS Filed July 7, 1936 lwWWWWWWWWWWW ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 26,1937

UNITED" STATES ue'rnon or rmrsnma mimics Harry r. McNeil], Amsterdam n, N. y, assignor to Mohawk Carpet Mills, a corporation of New York Amsterdam, N. Y.,

Application July 7, me, Serial no, cases 60laims.

- This invention relates to the finishing or binding of the raw or unselvedged edges of pile fabrics, as, for example, in the production of rugs from such fabrics woven in indefinite lengths. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a novel method of finishing the raw edges of pile fabrics by the application thereto of a tape or binding strip, which is attached along its edges to the fabric and is folded to enclose the raw edge of the latter. The new method of finishing differs from those heretofore practiced in that it, wholly eliminates hand sewing and it is superior to prior methods in that it can be carried on more rapidly and at lower cost, and, in addition, the finished product is more durable and of better appearance.

In the binding or finishing of the edges of pile fabrics by the use of a tape-or strip in accordance with prior methods, it has been the go practice to attach one edge of the tape to the face of the fabric along and close to the edge to be bound. For this purpose, the tape is secured in position by a series of stitches, which may consist of a single row of plain stitches as passed through the fabric and tape by an operation known to the trade as hemming, or of stitches which encircle the edges of the fabric and tape and are known as overedgestltching. When the tape has thus been secured in position along one edge of the fabric, it is folded around that edge and against the back of the fabric, and the free edge of the tape is then secured to the fabric back by stitching done by hand and known as whip-stitching.

The prior method of binding described is open to several objections, the principal one being that the manual operation of whip stitching the free edge of the tape in place is costly and ineillcient. As a result, considerable space is required for carrying edge finishing operations in the mill, because of the number of operators required for even a relatively small production, and the finishing impedes the production of finished fabrics and restricts the output thereof. Moreover, the

hand stitching is not uniform in appearance and if it is not done carefully, the binding tape breaks loose.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of a method of binding which 0 overcomes the objections to the prior methods above pointed out, and in the practice of the new method, manual sewing operations are wholly eliminated. According to the new method,

the tape to be used is first secured to the face of the pile fabric along the cut edge of the latter by suitable machine stitching operations, and

thereafter, the tape is folded over to enclose the edge and laid flat against the' back of the fabric. The fabric with the tape in place is then folded along the' edge to bring the edge portion over 5 and above the face of the fabric, and, while the fabric is maintained in this folded condition, the free edge of the tape and the folded portlonwof the fabric are presented to and advanced beneath the needle of a sewing machine. This 1 results' in the formation of a row of machine stitches which pass'through the edge of the tape and through the fabric on either side of the line of folding and secure the edge of the tape firmly in position. 1 For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure lis a view of the back of the fabric illustrating the binding tape secured in place in '20 accordance with the method of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a bed of a sewing machine which may be used in thepractlce of the new method;

Figure 3 is asectional view on the line 3-3 '26 of Figure 2 with conventional parts of the sewingmachine omitted; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of While the method of the invention may be '30 practiced on sewing machines of various types, the machine preferred is that known commercially as the Union Special, Class 81,000, which is a machine of the fiat bed type employing a spreader and a ,looper in connection with a 355 reciprocating needle. It is to be understood, however, that other sewing machines or machines having stitch-forming mechanisms of other types may be substituted for the preferred machine, and the latter is illustrated in the 40 drawing merely for purposes of explanation.

Referring to the drawing, the pilefabric II is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 as having a binding tape ll secured to the face thereof along the cut edge I! by a row of stitches ii. The 45 tape may be secured along this edge in any desired manner, but, preferably, the tape is laid on the face of the fabric with one edge of' the tape substantially in alignment with the edge of the fabric, and with the body of the tape overlying the pile surface. The stitches it are then passed through the tape and fabric so that the tape is secured in place along its edge. Thereafter, the tape is folded around the edge of the fabric and laid against the back thereof. 55

The nextoperation is that of securing the free edge of the tape to the back of the fabric, and for this purpose, the fabric is laid on the flat bed 14 of the sewing machine with its pile surface l5 up. The edge of the fabric to which the tape is secured is then folded over toward the pile surface and the folded portion is introduced into a guide l6. This guide includes an overhanging portion II which maintains the folded portion of the fabric in proper position, and the guide is mounted for adjustment on the bed of the machine by means of a plate I8 having slots through which screws I! pass.

The sewing machine is provided with the usual presser foot 20 and feeding mechanism not shown. It also includes a reciprocating needle 21 carrying a thread 22, a looper 23 carrying a thread 24, a spreader 26, and stitch-forming fingers 21, 28, all these parts being of well-known construction and mode of operation.

In the operation of the machine, the folded portion of the fabric with the tape in place is inserted beneath the overhanging part of the guide l6 and then advanced by hand until the fabric is engaged by the presser foot 20. This foot holds the fabric in folded condition and the tape in position, and the fabric and tape are advanced to the needle by the usual feeding mechanism which engages the back of the fabric from beneath and automatically feeds the folded fabric and tape into the stitch-forming zone. As presented to this zone, the line of folding 25 of the fabric lies at one side of the needle and the free edge 25a of the tape lies close to the line of folding.

Just prior to the downward stroke of the needle, the looper 23 presents a loop in its thread 24 to the needle so that the latter carries its thread 22 through the loop in the thread 24 and then through the tape i i and through the fabric l0, first on one side of the line of folding and then on the other. The loop in the needle thread 22 formed by this action of the needle is then engaged by the spreader 26 which carries the loop in a transverse direction into the path of the looper 23 as the needle is withdrawn from the work. The feeding mechanism then operates to advance the fabric and the looper 23 with its thread 24 in its movement into the stitching zone passes in the loop formed in the needle thread 22 by the spreader. On the succeeding work-penetrating stroke of the needle, the latter again passes its thread 22 through the loop in the looper thread 24 as the looper reaches the stitch-forming zone, and on the retraction of the looper out of this zone, the loop previously formed in the needle thread 22 is removed from the looper and locked in position by the looper thread 24, so that a stitch is thereby formed around the stitch-forming fingers 21 and 28.

The continued feeding of the fabric in the longitudinal direction by' the feed mechanism causes stitches to be formed around the finger 28 and a stitch is removed from this finger at each forward step in the movement of the fabric. The removal of the stitch from the finger causes the thread which comprises that part of the stitch formed by the looper thread 24 looped about the needle thread 22 along the lines 29 and 30 to bind the edge of the tape firmly to the back of the fabric as the thread comes into contact with the latter upon disengagement from the operations described are illustrated in Figure 1 and this View shows the manner in which the needle thread 22 passes through the loops in the looper thread 24 as the needle penetrates the tape and fabric. It will also be noted that the looper thread passes through loops II in the needle thread which lie beyond the edge of the tape II.

It will be observed from Figure 4 that with the stitch described, the needle thread 22 passes through the fabric close to the bases of the tufts, and the needle thread is thus not visible at the face of the fabric, being obscured by the tufts. The tape is held firmly to the back of the fabric by the needle thread, and the edge of the tape is held down flat against the back of the fabric by the looper thread. The two threads are thus locked together to form a series of machine stitches, and the stitching firmly secures the tape to the back of'the fabric but without affecting the appearance of the fabric at the face in any way. The stitching described can be applied efficiently and economically and the use of the. new methodaccordingly reduces the cost of binding the cut edge of the fabric and produces a finished edge of more attractive appearance than that obtained by hand operations.

I claim:

1. The method of binding the edge of a fabric which comprises securing a tape by stitching to the face of the fabric along said edge, folding the tape over the edge to be flat against the back of the fabric, folding the fabric along a line parallel to the edge thereof and adjacent to the edge of the tape, presenting the folded portion of the fabric and the edge portion of the tape to the reciprocating needle of a sewing machine, and, while maintaining the fabric in folded position, advancing the fabric and tape to cause the needle to pass through the tape and through the fabric on both sides of the line of folding and connect the tape to the fabric by a series of stitches invisible from the face of the fabric.

2. The method of binding the edge of a fabric which comprises stitching a tape to the face of the fabric along said edge, folding the tape over the edge and against the back of the fabric, folding said edge of the fabric with the tape in place over upon the face of the fabric along a. line of folding adjacent to the free edge of the tape, presenting the folded portion of the fabric and the edge portion of the tape to the reciprocating needle of a sewing machine, and, while maintaining the fabric in folded position, advancing the fabric and tape to cause the needle to pass through the tape and through the fabric on both sides of the line of folding and connect the previously free edge of the tape to the fabric by a series of stitches invisible from the face of the fabric.

3. The method of binding the edge of a fabric which comprises securing a tape by stitching to the face of the fabric along said edge, folding the tape over the edge and against the back of the fabric, folding the fabric along a line parallel to the edge thereof and adjacent to the edge of the tape, presenting the folded portion of the fabric and the edge portion of the tape to the reciprocating needle and looper of a sewing machine, and, while maintaining the fabric in folded position, advancing the fabric and tape to cause the needle and looper to cooperate in the formation of interlocked stitches, certain of which pass through the tape and through the fabric on opposite sides of the line of folding, and others of which overlie the previously free edge of the tape.

4. In a method of binding the edge of a fabric by means of a tape, the steps of simultaneously presenting to the reciprocating needle of a sewing machine an edge of the tape and a portion of the fabric folded along a line adjacent to said edge of the tape, said edge of the tape lying outside the fold, and, while maintaining the fabric in folded condition, advancing the tape and fabric to cause the needle to pass through the tape and through the fabric on opposite sides of the line of folding and connect the tape to the fabric by a line of stitches along said edge of the tape and invisible from the face of the fabric.

5. In a method of binding the edge of a fabric by means of a tape, the steps of simultaneously presenting an edge of the tape and a portion of the fabric folded along a line adjacent to said edge of the tape to the reciprocating needle and looper of a sewing machine, and, while maintaining the fabric in folded condition, advancing the fabric and tape to cause the needle and looper to cooperate in the formation of interlocked stitches, certain of which pass through the tape and through the fabric on opposite sides of the line of folding and others of which overlie said edge of the tape.

6. The method of producing a finished edge on a rug having a pile surface and an edge portion devoid of pile tufts which comprises folding said edge portion back upon itself to lie against the back of the rug with the free edge of the edge portion substantially parallel to the line of folding thereof, folding the pile-surfaced portion of the rug along a line parallel to the line of folding of said edge portion and adjacent to the free edge of said portion, said edge portion lying outside the fold, presenting the folded pile-surfaced portion of the rug to the reciprocating needle of a sewing machine, and, while maintaining the folded relations of said portions, advancing the rug to cause the needle to pass through the edge portion adjacent the free edge of the latter and through the two layers of the pile-surfaced portion forming the fold between the outer ends of the pile adjacent the line of folding and the line of folding to secure the free edge of the edge portion to the folded pile-surfaced portion along the line of folding of the latter by a series of stitches invisible from the pile-surfaced face of the rug.

HARRY P. McNEILL. 

